May Frugalistas

[JustEm]

Starting this thread today since dh and are talking about May tonight.  So, what are everyone's May plans?  Goals? Frugal choices? etc? 

May is actually a pretty expensive month for us I'm guessing.  Dh, ds14, and I are going to Daytona for a 4 day music festival with 2 of our friends.  So, we've got to budget for expenses like food and gas while travelling.  Thankfully, the people we are traveling with are all about grocery shopping and making food at the airbnb.  We also have an entire day in Orlando so we've decided to get Universals tickets for the 3 of us as this year's bday gifts for all of us.  It is more than we'd normally spend but worth it since we'll have no little kids and can ride all the roller coasters that we want.  Theme parks were a big part of our dating life so dh and I are excited to have time for it this year. 

Dd12 is also turning 13 this month so we'll have that added expense. She wants to go to the mall with 3 of her friends so her gift will be buying a few things spur of the moment there. I'll be able to be frugal that day by planning the food ahead of time and finding coupons for the most likely stores she'll buy things from.

Not really sure what else is in store spending wise.

[HomeAgain]

May should be a light month here.  No sports, no afterschool activities...

It's starting to get warm out.  This week has been spent making a firepit and splitting wood.  Our part-time neighbor realized they're not going to be around enough to burn their stack, so ds13 hauled over about half of it at their request, and will haul the next half next weekend.  We should have enough for plenty of Friday night family time in the backyard.

I can't think of any necessary expenses this month.  No travel, and I'm not big on Mother's Day.  Oh, I just thought of one: ds has outgrown everything again.  I'll need to get him new shorts/a few pairs of pants, new shoes, and new scout shirts/sweatshirt.  But this is now a monthly budget line since he just.keeps.growing. He also has a field trip ($20) but will be taking a lunch from home.  I need to make sure it is disposable AND marine life friendly.  He's not thrilled about this trip.  He does not like water, does not like the smell of the ocean, and does not like boats.  He would prefer to stay back at the school and do research in the library. 😄

 

 

[Soror]

Well, things aren't as tight as they were but also not as loose as I'd like either.

Dh finishes the semester this month so he only has 5 trips over there vs the usual 12 for the month. Gas will be lower.

Ds is graduating so I'm going to send out announcements for that. I need to get on that asap. I'm also splitting the cost of pictures for dd and her boyfriend for prom. There are a couple of Senior activities that ds hasn't made up his mind about that I might have to cover. There aren't any events for dd1 that I'm aware of but sometimes she forgets to tell me. It is the end of the year so usually there aren't too many field trips. I'm going to give ds' girlfriend a cash gift for graduation but I plan on waiting for ds until we do his party in the summer.

It is dh's bday month. I'd hoped to get him a big gift- an after-market back-up camera for his car BUT it isn't in the budget. Instead, he'll get a nice meal at home. I will be telling them don't spend money on me for Mother's Day. I'd like someone else to cook and family time together. We'll get a little something for both of our Moms. 

We have to get the tires installed that we bought for my car, do spring maintenance on dd's car, license dh's car, and replace the brakes .  I think its brakes. IDK he's doing something to it. I think we're good on oil changes but then again he puts a ton of miles on his car so it might be due again. He does way overkill on vehicle maintenance which kills me at times because it adds up. However, we have a couple of higher mileage vehicles that are still running very well so I'll give him that. I will be happy once we can replace his truck (tentatively planned for the year after he graduates and gets a better job) I worry about it popping up and needing some big repair. We have money set aside but it still worries me. It would also be nice for him to only have one vehicle! He rarely drives the truck because it is so bad on gas mileage we can't afford to but he wants to keep a truck around because he needs one at times- we will especially this summer when we finish the shop.  

I'd like to get some mulch and flowers. I have some budgeted for it but I need to wait and see how much the vehicle maintenance and repairs cost. Dh gave me a guesstimate but he's insanely busy now so I don't know if it's accurate.

I'd like to find myself a skirt or dress I like but I expect that to come out of my personal spending money.

We'll be working on the shop once dh finishes the semester. I added to that fund last month with my check and the majority of my check will go there this month and next. We're hoping that is enough to get it done on the exterior (it's done on 2 sides now and nearly done on the 3rd we just haven't had the time). Next year we hope to get electricity to it.

I'm considering a PT and/or temporary job for the summer. I technically have a FT job but I don't work FT hours and can make my own schedule. Plus, we are slower in the summer as there are less referrals when school is out of session. Honestly, I'm just looking for more fun money without sacrificing saving goals I'd like to hit. Dd3 has been really into Harry Potter and I think it would be awesome to take her to Universal Studios but right now that isn't in the budget without cutting other items I'd really like to fund. IDK I need to talk to my co-worker to feel out how that would be perceived. I know my supervisor has another job as well where she is gone all day 3 days a week so I think it would be ok. I was considering applying for another one- a job takng care of plants that my friend does now but they wanted me there more on the weekend and I dont' want to give up weekend time when dh is home. I don't know I need to think about more.

[historically accurate]

May is a big month for us - unsure of how it will all affect the budget.

Oldest is planning on moving in with MIL Memorial Day weekend. Middle and Youngest will finish up school - middle will start CNA training the beginning of June. Budget: Will cost quite a bit in gas to get her there, and I need to speak to my boss about shifting my schedule a little.

I started with more hours, but a little less $$ since I buy into the pension fund now. Hopefully, my raise in July will offset that and I'll come home close to what I was bringing home before. Raise went through at second job, and I'm doing 3 afternoons a week in May. Extra money will be nice in May, but I won't be able to keep up 3 shifts in June with the CNA training.

Finally heard from Mayo financial assistance - they discounted by half, which is awesome, but still a staggering amount left to pay. Will call on Monday to set up a payment plan. Will pay off one medical payment plan next month and final orthodontic payment for Youngest in July (we've paid for 10 years for braces, so I'm super excited about that one going away!). 

We adjusted DH's withholding because there was nothing coming out of it for federal. We will see how that affects what his take home pay this coming week. Ugh. 

I wanted to get the mirror for the bathroom I updated in April in May, but I don't foresee it happening. Maybe June? 

Edited April 30, 2023 by historically accurate

[mommyoffive]

@historically accurate Yay for the raises and the financial assistance coming through.

[mommyoffive]

@Soror That is cool that you can possibly fit in a part time job while having the fulltime one.  Flexible jobs are such a beneficial for parents.

[mommyoffive]

Mother’s Day is just around the corner so this is the perfect time to start thinking of the perfect gift for your favorite mom. Through May 12th, make your way over to Lowe’s where you can register for a FREE annual 1-pint flowering plant for Mother’s Day — limit 1 per customer!

These FREE flowering plants from Lowe’s are the perfect way to give a gift she’ll be able to enjoy all summer long! Traditional cut flower bouquets require more care and rarely last longer than a week or two.

Instead, surprise her with Lowe’s flowers in the form of an annual flowering plant that she can admire in her garden or planter throughout the season. Plus, you can easily pair this plant with a box of chocolate and a thoughtful card for a sweet Mother’s Day surprise!

Registration will close on May 12th or while supplies last so be sure to register as soon as possible!

Lowe's Flowers for Mother's Day for FREE! (hip2save.com)

[Brittany1116]

$0 day today.

We have a long trip out of state, a night in Daytona for a gala, and a kid's birthday. Most is already paid up, except gas for the trip and food money at the beach. 

[prairiewindmomma]

May is going to be spendier—seasonal replacement wardrobe purchases (mostly worn out shoes), some travel bookings, more home repair stuff, and the usual medical. Dh also needs a home office chair. Now that he has an office, he has space for one, and it’s time. (He had been using a standing desk in a corner of our bedroom.)
 

I pulled out all of the homeschool stuff we have for 5th grade off the shelves and I am trying to see what makes sense to use for Youngest and where I have gaps. I am hoping to get that sorted this week and then figure out what I need to order. I am boxing up what we won’t use and will offer that up to the local homeschool group, and then Goodwill what is leftover. 
 

Dh and I did a closet clean out this weekend to really assess what we need to store as we plan the closet redesign and during that process we gathered a few bags of stuff to donate. Dh doesn’t need a business formal or a business casual wardrobe anymore. Most days he wears jeans to work. We kept a couple of things and are donating the rest since it’s been five years of holding and waiting to see if he would ever wear those. We added the bags of Youngest’s outgrown wardrobe and some other things that had stacked up into a donation pile and filled the back of the minivan. We dropped that off during our grocery run. 

I have hopes that eventually we will right size ourselves into this house. We have just felt really cramped with everyone doubled up in small rooms and with no attic or basement or big closets for storage. No one is launching yet due to HCOL, and we’re trying to turn this into a functional house for adults. It’s a different vibe than having lots of littles and tripping over their legos and dolls, iykwim. 

 

[saraha]

We cannot cut anymore of the budget so I got a weekend job. I need to get some good shoes as I’ll be on my feet and a couple pairs of slacks, so spend money to make money. The job looks fun though and is only through October, but if they like me, I could potentially do it again next season.

[mommyoffive]

20 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

May is going to be spendier—seasonal replacement wardrobe purchases (mostly worn out shoes), some travel bookings, more home repair stuff, and the usual medical. Dh also needs a home office chair. Now that he has an office, he has space for one, and it’s time. (He had been using a standing desk in a corner of our bedroom.)
 

I pulled out all of the homeschool stuff we have for 5th grade off the shelves and I am trying to see what makes sense to use for Youngest and where I have gaps. I am hoping to get that sorted this week and then figure out what I need to order. I am boxing up what we won’t use and will offer that up to the local homeschool group, and then Goodwill what is leftover. 
 

Dh and I did a closet clean out this weekend to really assess what we need to store as we plan the closet redesign and during that process we gathered a few bags of stuff to donate. Dh doesn’t need a business formal or a business casual wardrobe anymore. Most days he wears jeans to work. We kept a couple of things and are donating the rest since it’s been five years of holding and waiting to see if he would ever wear those. We added the bags of Youngest’s outgrown wardrobe and some other things that had stacked up into a donation pile and filled the back of the minivan. We dropped that off during our grocery run. 

I have hopes that eventually we will right size ourselves into this house. We have just felt really cramped with everyone doubled up in small rooms and with no attic or basement or big closets for storage. No one is launching yet due to HCOL, and we’re trying to turn this into a functional house for adults. It’s a different vibe than having lots of littles and tripping over their legos and dolls, iykwim. 

 

How many kids do you have?

[mommyoffive]

18 hours ago, saraha said:

We cannot cut anymore of the budget so I got a weekend job. I need to get some good shoes as I’ll be on my feet and a couple pairs of slacks, so spend money to make money. The job looks fun though and is only through October, but if they like me, I could potentially do it again next season.

Congrats on the new job.  I hope you have fun with it.

[mommyoffive]

Got gas today 33.05.

Signed up the kids for nature school yesterday.  

[prairiewindmomma]

1 hour ago, mommyoffive said:

How many kids do you have?

I have four kids at home. I had another kid in the mix for a while, but she died of cancer some years ago. Youngest is a straggler in the lineup—I had my first four pretty close together. 

 

[mommyoffive]

6 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I have four kids at home. I had another kid in the mix for a while, but she died of cancer some years ago. Youngest is a straggler in the lineup—I had my first four pretty close together. 

 

I am sorry for the loss of your dd. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Can we briefly talk travel? I'm trying to figure out how to manage all of our medical stuff and still make one under-seat bag per person work.....and in wrestling with all of that, I'm trying to figure out electronics and passport carrying as a family. If you travel with a bunch of kids---and I have to say here my ADHD teens are not reliable holders of precious things---how do you manage the paperwork? Do you shove a stack of passports into a ziplock and put it into your bag? Do you split the passports between responsible people to carry? Do you have a passport organizer booklet? Also, phones and chargers.....we have 5 phones in the household, and no one is going to want to leave theirs behind because they are also their cameras. How do you manage that?

We haven't traveled internationally since covid, so I feel a bit off balance now that everyone is older. I don't want to spend where I don't have to, OTOH, I don't want to make myself miserable by being unnecessarily stingy.

Right now, we're leaning towards our longest trip being two weeks with all of us carrying roughly 20L bags.....plus another huge backpack for medical only. 

Also, has anyone used an Orange holiday sim card in Europe? Or know of a better deal?

[DawnM]

I just signed up to work during the summer.   It isn't a given, but if I get it, it will help with this upcoming year's expenses.   Two kids in college and we are all traveling overseas next year.  

The amount I make in summer school will almost cover the amount I am not getting due to Andrew's birth mother going to jail and us not getting the SSI check for him anymore. 🤨   If she gets out of jail and gets her SSI again, he will get his $$ too.

We are trying to eat through the freezer, partly to make more ROOM as it is pretty full.  Since my dad's memorial, we have been trying to purge/eat down our pantry and freezer.   

 

[DawnM]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

I have four kids at home. I had another kid in the mix for a while, but she died of cancer some years ago. Youngest is a straggler in the lineup—I had my first four pretty close together. 

 

So sorry.

[cjzimmer1]

35 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Can we briefly talk travel? I'm trying to figure out how to manage all of our medical stuff and still make one under-seat bag per person work.....and in wrestling with all of that, I'm trying to figure out electronics and passport carrying as a family. If you travel with a bunch of kids---and I have to say here my ADHD teens are not reliable holders of precious things---how do you manage the paperwork? Do you shove a stack of passports into a ziplock and put it into your bag? Do you split the passports between responsible people to carry? Do you have a passport organizer booklet? Also, phones and chargers.....we have 5 phones in the household, and no one is going to want to leave theirs behind because they are also their cameras. How do you manage that?

We haven't traveled internationally since covid, so I feel a bit off balance now that everyone is older. I don't want to spend where I don't have to, OTOH, I don't want to make myself miserable by being unnecessarily stingy.

Right now, we're leaning towards our longest trip being two weeks with all of us carrying roughly 20L bags.....plus another huge backpack for medical only. 

Also, has anyone used an Orange holiday sim card in Europe? Or know of a better deal?

I don't know much about flying as I haven't done any in over 20 years but my mom just took a flight and her cpap unit/bag was not counted as her carry on unit so in essence she was carrying two bags.  I suppose it may depend on what kind of medical stuff you have but I would check if it's items that are "free" to take so you don't have to use your carryon space for it.

[prairiewindmomma]

It’s all Rx, so I should have no issues. I have flown quite a bit with a lot of medical stuff. If it isn’t Rx but is medical in nature it generally needs a note from the dr, but otherwise it is pretty straightforward. The only big no-no is oxygen tanks due to the explosion risk. 

As far as packing goes, it’s actually easier to have it all in one bag in terms of in cabin exemptions to luggage allotment. You get an eyebrow but when you lay it all out, and they verify you really are complicated, you get the nod and move on.

 

 

[mommyoffive]

4 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Can we briefly talk travel? I'm trying to figure out how to manage all of our medical stuff and still make one under-seat bag per person work.....and in wrestling with all of that, I'm trying to figure out electronics and passport carrying as a family. If you travel with a bunch of kids---and I have to say here my ADHD teens are not reliable holders of precious things---how do you manage the paperwork? Do you shove a stack of passports into a ziplock and put it into your bag? Do you split the passports between responsible people to carry? Do you have a passport organizer booklet? Also, phones and chargers.....we have 5 phones in the household, and no one is going to want to leave theirs behind because they are also their cameras. How do you manage that?

We haven't traveled internationally since covid, so I feel a bit off balance now that everyone is older. I don't want to spend where I don't have to, OTOH, I don't want to make myself miserable by being unnecessarily stingy.

Right now, we're leaning towards our longest trip being two weeks with all of us carrying roughly 20L bags.....plus another huge backpack for medical only. 

Also, has anyone used an Orange holiday sim card in Europe? Or know of a better deal?

I always carry ALL the passports in my purse.  

Is each person having their own carry on?   If so everyone has their phones in there.

[mommyoffive]

4 hours ago, DawnM said:

I just signed up to work during the summer.   It isn't a given, but if I get it, it will help with this upcoming year's expenses.   Two kids in college and we are all traveling overseas next year.  

The amount I make in summer school will almost cover the amount I am not getting due to Andrew's birth mother going to jail and us not getting the SSI check for him anymore. 🤨   If she gets out of jail and gets her SSI again, he will get his $$ too.

We are trying to eat through the freezer, partly to make more ROOM as it is pretty full.  Since my dad's memorial, we have been trying to purge/eat down our pantry and freezer.   

 

Where are you guys going next year?

[prairiewindmomma]

43 minutes ago, mommyoffive said:

I always carry ALL the passports in my purse.  

Is each person having their own carry on?   If so everyone has their phones in there.

Do you get international adapters for everyone or just a couple that have additional usb ports or???

[mommyoffive]

2 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Do you get international adapters for everyone or just a couple that have additional usb ports or???

We have only brought one phone with us. 

[Soror]

13 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Can we briefly talk travel? I'm trying to figure out how to manage all of our medical stuff and still make one under-seat bag per person work.....and in wrestling with all of that, I'm trying to figure out electronics and passport carrying as a family. If you travel with a bunch of kids---and I have to say here my ADHD teens are not reliable holders of precious things---how do you manage the paperwork? Do you shove a stack of passports into a ziplock and put it into your bag? Do you split the passports between responsible people to carry? Do you have a passport organizer booklet? Also, phones and chargers.....we have 5 phones in the household, and no one is going to want to leave theirs behind because they are also their cameras. How do you manage that?

We haven't traveled internationally since covid, so I feel a bit off balance now that everyone is older. I don't want to spend where I don't have to, OTOH, I don't want to make myself miserable by being unnecessarily stingy.

Right now, we're leaning towards our longest trip being two weeks with all of us carrying roughly 20L bags.....plus another huge backpack for medical only. 

Also, has anyone used an Orange holiday sim card in Europe? Or know of a better deal?

Dh and I split passports, paperwork etc. except for of course when they had to go through the line then we gave them to the respective kids and got them back after we were through the line. Of my 4 I'd trust 1 of them but it was just peace of mind to carry it. One is ADHD, one is just the type to not pay attention and the last is only 10. 

We bought EE sim cards when we went overseas last time. We used that to communicate with each other and data. Being overseas we wanted to make sure everyone had a way to contact us if we somehow got split up. It was $150 total for the 6 of us (that was for 30 days and 30 gig of data each). No one came close to that except ds who ended up having to switch with dd3 as she hardly used any.  We also paid around $15 for Skype to call internationally to check in with our parents (that was for a month). That also gave us a local number that our parents could call us without having a charge for an international call.  

We used Orange Holiday on our first trip overseas. It was nice because it came to our house so we had it when we touched down. The disadvantage is that it was more expensive and doesn't last as long. With EE we went to a dealer away from the airport to save even more. It was about  $5-$10 cheaper per person vs the EE in the airport. Our first time we also only bought one card. Mostly that was fine until we got separated and dh was adamant that we not repeat that again.

[mommyoffive]

Gas 26.63

[mommyoffive]

Love saving money on pet supplies? For a limited time and while supplies last, race on over to Amazon where they are hosting a whopping $30 off a $100+ Select Pet Supplies purchase when you enter code 5C9D31BB at checkout!

Even better, we found quite a few items on sale so you can stack the $30 savings with the sale prices to get a double dose of savings!

$30 Off $100 Amazon Pet Coupon | Score BIG Savings on Dog & Cat Treats | Hip2Save

[prairiewindmomma]

National Park Service has an awesome free app, with maps you can download for use online.  We downloaded a free NPS membership for Youngest, as part of the Every Kid Outdoors program for 4th graders. https://everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm   We have used this program a couple of times since it was established.  The kid has to be with you and you have to have a PAPER PASS. They won't accept a screenshot.  The pass is super easy to print.  We usually make two copies--one to safeguard at home, and one to keep in our vehicle.

[mommyoffive]

1 minute ago, prairiewindmomma said:

National Park Service has an awesome free app, with maps you can download for use online.  We downloaded a free NPS membership for Youngest, as part of the Every Kid Outdoors program for 4th graders. https://everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm   We have used this program a couple of times since it was established.  The kid has to be with you and you have to have a PAPER PASS. They won't accept a screenshot.  The pass is super easy to print.  We usually make two copies--one to safeguard at home, and one to keep in our vehicle.

We have used that program too.  

[JustEm]

I had a $15 off $100 coupon to home Depot and since we've had things like mulch, driveway lights, and fencing to keep deer away from my young trees on our list we used that yesterday. Ended up spending $140 but I'm pretty sure I'll return about $40 worth of the stuff because we weren't sure how many stakes we needed. We'll see

 

[JustEm]

- I had a surprise ~$45 credit on the Home Depot cc I used so that $140 I spent will only cost me roughly $96, if I don't return anything! So, back in the original budget for that trip

- Did the grocery shopping today and found some great meat deals again so for $39 we've got about half the meat we'll eat for the month. I was also under for our weekly shopping, which is good because dd's bday is Thurs and we have to buy some things that day for her bday dinner.

[prairiewindmomma]

Our Kroger chain store has been running good meat sales, especially on Fridays. Usually they sell out right away, but I recently got 6 lb of beef for $12. (Normally it’s at least $4.99/lb. for the best sale here.)

[JustEm]

Spent $125 on clothing for dh and dd3. Hopefully that is the end of the clothing purchases for spring and summer

[prairiewindmomma]

We bought fruit, veg, meat, three jars of marinade (cheaper than the ingredients to make our own) and two boxes of lactose free milk—$237. It felt like a great deal in the store, but as I type it out I realize how crazy that would have sounded just a few years ago. I feel like I have trimmed our budget as much as we can and still eat healthily (we have bulk beans and rice and lentils at home), but I am still frustrated by how much we are spending on food compared to pre-pandemic.

 

[DawnM]

On 5/2/2023 at 11:26 PM, mommyoffive said:

Where are you guys going next year?

East Africa

[Soror]

I forgot that my niece is graduating when I made my budget. Oops. So, no gardening money and I pulled from some other categories to cover a gift for her. Also, Mom informed that she's buying another beef to raise. She hadn't mentioned this so it was not in my budget, my part is $250. I'm pulling out of groceries and car repair. I had allocated a big chunk but I'm not sure if he'll go ahead and do it this month as he's itching to get back started on the shop after he finishes school (1 more day).

[Condessa]

I have perfected my Greek yogurt recipe to where I now get consistently great results.  (Before I would have variations in tartness and texture from one batch to another.)  I love it!  Ingredients cost me $3.95 for over half a gallon of thick, creamy Greek yogurt.  So I’m making a batch of that about every other week.

Using up the last of the charter school funds for the year this week on AOPS self-paced classes for the boys.  They will work on them lightly during the summer, and will still have a lot left after, so that will cover math for them up through Fall semester, which will help next year’s funds go farther.  We used to have to look for ways to use it up, when we got the allotment for more kids but the youngers weren’t taking any outside classes and were mostly reusing items we already had.  I will have just two homeschooling with the charter next year and they will both be taking outside classes, so it might not cover all our education expenses anymore.

Dh’s business is thriving right now.  His profit share disbursement was larger than expected.  We put a chunk into the IRAs, a few hundred in the kids’ 529s, and have set aside $3500 for paying next year’s medical deductible, as the kids will not qualify for the secondary insurance through the state anymore.  We need to set aside another $4500 for that before the end of the year, and just have that as part of the budget from now on.  I think.  It’s hard to know how much we will actually need, exactly.  The family deductible is $16k, and dh’s work will reimburse up to the individual deductible, which is $8k.  But ds9 may well be able to keep his secondary insurance through the appeal process based on his diagnosis.  However, the primary insurance doesn’t cover dental or more than 30 sessions of all types of therapy per year.  (We have had that many in under 2 months before!)  I think I will get some credit card with sign-up benefits for high spending at the beginning of the year and put all medical bills on it and immediately pay them off, then use the rewards towards a family trip.

[DawnM]

I ordered a family meal from Bojangles last night because I had a 50% off coupon.   As is their usual for pick up, they messed up pretty big.   DH tried to ask them about each missing item but the worker was irritated that he would hold up the line and was irritated that she had to go get stuff missing.

So, he came home without everything.   

I called to speak to the manager and he told me to come back today and get a whole new order for free.

So, for $30 I fed our family a few nights.

YAY!

[mommyoffive]

Spent 35.20 on gas

Did some travel hacking redeeming. 

[prairiewindmomma]

Anyone worried about US debt default here? We aren’t affected by social security or disability payments or federal salaries, but we are trying to hit a national park before June 1st as they will close if we default. 

[Condessa]

Oh, and we finally got a dining room table and chairs!  We have been making due with a folding table and various chairs collected from around the house whenever we need to eat for months now, because I didn’t want something cheap and flimsy, we need something larger than standard size, and I wasn’t willing to pay a thousand dollars.  I found this nice, sturdy table in good condition to seat 8 on Craigslist. The folding leaf mechanism is broken so it can’t go down smaller, but we don’t have any use for that anyways.  It came with 6 wooden chairs, one of which had a loose leg.  I figure I can get two chairs in the same wood finish to put on the ends and it will look fine, as lots of dining sets have a different style of chairs for the ends.  And fixing the one chair leg will be pretty simple.  My budget was no more than $500, and we paid $160.

[Condessa]

My church and the homeschool group both had spring cleaning swap meets.  I got rid of a lot of stuff, and also picked up a number of things we needed for free. Some clothes, including a nice winter coat and Nike tennis shoes in good condition, and chairs for our computer station, a music stand, and a tricycle and car seat.
 

 I maybe should have gotten rid of more curriculum, rather than continuing to store multiple complete elementary math and phonics curricula, but I don’t know what learning style will work best for my 18 month old yet!

[mommyoffive]

Yay, just got 20% off dd2's pointe shoes!!  Stocking up for summer intensives.

Gas yesterday 25.74.  Filled up for 3.02

Our driving is a bit less as Nature school is over.

 

[prairiewindmomma]

We are back from visiting Olympic National Park and Vancouver Island, Canada. 
We packed a cooler with food for the NP, which was very good as there are very limited services throughout the area. We had a great time except Youngest learned she needs more supportive shoes—we only did 5 miles of hiking one day and 7 the next but she was really struggling. We are going to replace her tennis shoes this week and get her fitted for her first pair of proper hiking boots. I suspect we will be splashing out $60 for high arch inserts for each pair also, but I will let the shoe fitter make the final call. 

[historically accurate]

It's been a weird month here - extremely busy but not very frugal. We've had tons of doctor appointments (a few for each person) and I worked extra on top of that. I just spent $360 on groceries in order to do a big freezer meal session this coming long weekend. If you need me, I'll be in the kitchen LOL! Oldest moved out; that didn't cost us anything except gas for several van trips to drop off stuff. 

One frugal thing was my mom mailing us some unworn shoes for DD's CNA clinicals. My mom worked at a factory years ago, and she only wore SAS shoes and she had 1 pair unworn when she retired. They're still in her closet 15ish years later... Fingers crossed they fit.

We're kind of wondering if we need to replace the van some time soon. It seems to be reaching that weird phase where you don't know if it'll cost more to fix than it's worth. It's still limping along (no air though - total ugh in the summer), but we don't know how long our luck will hold.

[Shoeless]

Found a pair of Converse at Goodwill for $10 and a Coach purse for $7, plus a stack of books for DS for $1 each. The purse is going on ebay and the shoes are going on my feet! I'm happy they fit me 😊

[mommyoffive]

1 hour ago, Shoeless said:

Found a pair of Converse at Goodwill for $10 and a Coach purse for $7, plus a stack of books for DS for $1 each. The purse is going on ebay and the shoes are going on my feet! I'm happy they fit me 😊

Score!  Do you run an ebay business? 

[Shoeless]

Just now, mommyoffive said:

Score!  Do you run an ebay business? 

Yes! I flip thrift store and estate sale items. I also part-out small appliances, like meat slicers and Kirby vacuums. There's money in parts! 

[Soror]

It's been up and down here. 

Dh still hasn't done the one repair he said he was making but did decide to go ahead and buy another 2 tires for my car so they are all new now. He found a good deal on ebay and had Walmart install them.

We got a $900 college bill for dh but then they said his Pell covered all but $40. Dh also got notified he is getting another $900 scholarship for next year. Usually we have to pay 200-400 out of pocket and then after semester he gets back 75% from work. I think it's likely we won't have any out of pocket. 

I believe I misfigured on a scholarship for DS so his college will be more than I thought. Good thing I had budgeted some wiggle room. I need to verify this and see how much more we'll need. He'll be paying some and we will pay the rest (contingent on his grades). 

Dd1 signed up for some DE classes. They were free the last couple of years but now cost $66-88. For the fall it will be $220 for 3 classes. I can't complain about that. 

I had to pay $250 for 1/4 of a cow for my mom and dad to raise for next year. I took that out of groceries but pulled 100 from various categories to give us a bit more. 

As posted in my other thread my oven has went out. I'm buying used. I think I'll be able to absorb that in my budget this month and next without pulling from my household fund. 

I think I've decided not to add on a PT job. If something opens up that is just right maybe but I don't want to be out of the house more. Instead I've loosened up the goals some.